Eyserbosweg

The Eyserbosweg is a col with a length of 944 meter. This is a category 4 col. It is located in Eys, Limburg, Netherlands. The average grade of this col is 8.6% with a maximum of 17.6%. The Eyserbosweg ascents from 83 meter at the start, to 164 meter at the top, with a total of 81 ascending meters.

Description

The Keutenberg and Cauberg have the name and the history, but the Eyserbosweg is the true hard climb. For years it was an anonymous climb on the Amstel Gold Race route. The first six hundred meters from the picturesque Eys is still clinging to it, but then, when turning into the forest, suddenly there is that kink of more than 18%.
It's a mountain for the real climbers", says Michael Boogerd, who in the past invariably plans his attack on this climb. Already in the village the road climbs steeply, but the climb gets steeper and steeper. It's like La Redoute in Liège-Bastogne-Liege.

In 1985 (the year that Gerrie Knetemann won) the escaped Adri van der Poel found his Waterloo there. In the pouring rain and cold the Brabander had escaped and built up a bigger and bigger lead. Until he met the notorious man on the Eyserbos with the hammer. A few hundred metres further in the hamlet of Elkenrade he even had to 'puke' from his bicycle. That day I had only taken liquid food. Because of the cold that fell like a block of ice in my stomach. That played me up there."

Seven years later, Frans Maassen laid the foundation for his victory. Two days before the Amstel Gold Race, to Krott's great surprise, the provincial road in Eys was broken open. Luckily they wanted to level the road, so that the peloton could still talk about it," Krott says. Only they also left all traffic all day on that road, so there was gravel everywhere. It was worse than Paris-Roubaix." At the foot of the Eyserbosweg it was raining with dozens of flat tires. Maassen survived the setback and was the only one who had an answer to the attack of Maurizio Fondriest.

In this way we were able to join the Dirk de Wolf who escaped earlier", Maassen looks back. In Eys it was a real mess. Three days earlier I had explored the course, but then there was nothing wrong. Nobody in the peloton knew that this strip was coming. I was lucky and was able to attack. That the Eyserbosweg is very heavy is a fact. In the Amstel Gold Race it's the combination with the Kruisberg that's the biggest problem. The better climbers are already coming forward. Then follows a short and narrow descent to Eys, after which they immediately start at the Eyserbos. The good men are immediately ideally placed."

A good place for the Italians. Here were the attacks by Maurizio Fondriest in 1991 en 1992; while Giorgio Furlan and Davide Cassani did the same in 1993 and 1994

- Amstel Gold Race 1989, 1991-1997, 2012-2019
- Eneco Tour 2015 - Stage 5
- ZLM Tour 2019 - Stage 3

Nearby Cols